Death of a Hero
by BaranoShiko
Summary: Since I was four years old I've experienced a lot of things, including the death of a hero. Reviews and flames are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

This will be in three chapters, basically a Prologue, Story and Epilogue. I will post one each week. I'd love to hear your feedback as you read, so please review.

Summery – _Since I was four years old, I've experienced a lot of things, including the death of a hero._

Disclaimer – I do not own Digimon. Very simple to understand, for me at least.

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Since the time I was four years old I've seen and experienced a lot of things that maybe the normal kid you meet on the street wouldn't. I watched my parents break up an event that caused me to be torn away from my older brother, the person that I look up to as my hero, friend, protector, role-model and everything else. 

I remember the funerals of three of my four of my grandparents, as well as the funeral for my youngest cousin and eldest uncle. I was one of the kids to pick on my first few years of school, something that was especially hard when I remembered that my brother had promised he'd always be there to protect me. The phone calls we were able to make did little to fill the empty place inside either of us.

All of these events occurred before I my seventh August. That August I both experienced the loss of part of me and gained more then I could ever express. That August was the month that I met Patamon for the first time and really began to grow up.

To say that our year in the Digital World was hard would be a huge understatement, but we turned out better for it. Getting separated from everyone you know and having evil creatures out to get you can be a bit intimidating, and for the first part I didn't change much. I was still the crybaby I'd been the first day we came here.

That changed that day I lost my Digimon. It doesn't matter that he returned shortly after, I still felt the sudden emptiness inside of me when he disappeared. I guess it was my fault in part; I kept relying on the others to do all the fighting, especially my brother. When all of them were down, I just stood there trembling. To my credit, I didn't run away, but I didn't do anything else either. Then when Patamon protected me, digivolved for the first time and then disappeared … I realized that I needed to grow up. I wasn't about to let that happen again and that promise has fueled me for the rest of my life. I got a glimpse of why my brother did what he did in relation to me. I respected him all the more for it.

As the rest of the summer past I experienced too many events to recount here, but it's sufficient to say that the eight of us chosen by the digital world felt like soldiers returning home from war by the time it was all over. Being separated from out Digimon was a hard blow to take, and if it hadn't been for each other we wouldn't have made it through the next few years.

Everything began rolling again when we were recalled in to the Digital World again. This time it was to fight one of our own, a human that had been corrupted. When we finally won him over, it took me a while to trust him but he's now a solid rock in the turbulent sea of our life.

Somewhere deep in my heart I pitied him. He'd lost both his brother and his Digimon, Even I couldn't imagine that. Until now, and now … I understand it all to well.

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TBC …

Review please! I'll happily accept constructive criticism and flames. Flames will be donated to 'Writers in need of heat' organization. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter.

Disclaimer - Don't own ... not one bit.

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We were ecstatic. The soccer team had made it to the final match of the year undefeated for the first in the school's history. Their last match would be against the best team in the region, an accomplishment that hadn't happened in nearly two decades. 

Everyone wanted to go to the game, so the school arranged for buses to transport us to and from the game. In total there were four buses; one for the team, one those of us that wanted to go from the middle school, and two for the older fans. Quite a few people opted to drive themselves or go with their family. Jyou and Ken reluctantly had to pass the game up, as they had to study for their private school exams. They promised to watch the televised game though.

During the game our stands were packed full, so full that some had to sit on the grass. All of the Digidestined sat together in a tight knot, screaming our lungs out for Taichi. I think Hikari used up five separate memory cards taking pictures. The ending score was 12 – 5, our win. After they received their award, the whole team was carried to the bus on the shoulders of the school. When they were set down they sheepishly excused themselves to go and change out of their smelly uniforms.

The sky was darkening, and with a three hour trip ahead of us the adults decided to send the younger kids and one bus of older kids back. Reluctantly Hikari, Daisuke, Iori, Miyako and I piled onto our bus after making Koushirou, Sora and my brother promise to pass along our congratulations to the team.

Sitting on the bus, the five of us ran through the game play by play, listening to Daisuke's interpreted version. Using Miyako's laptop Hikari showed us the pictures she'd taken. Later I got her to print out the one of Yamato and me with our arms around each other's shoulders grinning at the camera. I know Daisuke has the one of him and Jun framed by his bedside, and the Yagami's hung in their living room the picture of Taichi after the game where he was smiling, flashing the victory sign and holding the game ball.

Even though it was going on midnight when we arrived back at the school, everyone on the bus was awake and alert as possible. Earlier on, we'd tried calling the others on their phones, but couldn't make a connection the last few times. We thought we'd been out of range. When we stepped out of the bus none of us saw our parents, but that wasn't surprising. We all live a fair distance away, and we'd told them we would get home on our own. We did see Ken. He lived even farther away then any of us, and he'd seemed really busy studying when we'd called after the game.

Having already decided to wait for the other two buses, we walked over towards him. When we got closer we realized that he was watching something on a portable TV. He glanced up at us as we approached, but didn't say anything even though Daisuke was shouting about the game to him. I felt something drop in the pit of my stomach, but ignored it.

We'd barely reached Ken when cars started filling up the parking lot. We stopped and looked around in confusion. Ken put away the TV and walked the remaining distance to us. He walked with his head down, and hands in his pockets. The feeling in my stomach gave a twinge. My heart began to beat a bit more rapidly in my chest.

People started pouring out of the cars milliseconds after they'd stopped. We recognized parents looking around franticly. It wasn't too long before our parents found us with the help of Jyou. Both my mother and father grabbed me into a crushing hug. Over my father's shoulder I could see my friends being treated likewise. By this point my heart was pounding, and the feeling in my stomach was making me sick.

My mother was the first one to speak. She begged me to tell me where my brother was. Had he already left to go home? Was he alright? I answered truthfully that I didn't know, and that he'd been on the two buses that left after us. My father had to support my mother when she collapsed. Soon she was sobbing into his shoulder. Hikari and Daisuke's parents were in similar states. Silently Iori and Miyako's family ushered their children home.

Ken left with Jyou, after giving Daisuke, Hikari and I his cell number, even though it was already speed dialed into our family cell phones. My father told the three of us to sit down on the low wall behind us. Glancing at each other, we did so. We sat there in silence for minutes, waiting for someone to tell us what was going on. Hikari was sitting between Daisuke and me, and soon we each had a death grip on one of her hands.

Finally Hikari's mom slipped out of her husbands hold and crouched down before us. She looked at her hands as she spoke; I think she was trying to avoid another bout of tears by not looking at Hikari. Slowly, she told us that a driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, and caused an accident. The driver had crashed into a bus, tipping it into the ditch beside the road. The second bus behind it had slammed on the breaks and spun out of control, also into the ditch, right on top of the first one. Another driver had called the police, and an ambulance. Before any help got there, the wreck had caught on fire. No more word had come on if anyone had survived.

At the end, Hikari's mom looked up at us, and tears were running down her face again. Daisuke stood up, shaking his head. Hikari just looked at her mother, not saying a word. I looked at my father and mother; my father's station would have been the one to broadcast this. He slowly nodded his head. The feeling in my stomach burst, and I did something I hadn't done in years. I cried like there was no tomorrow.

I can barely remember the drive back to my mother's apartment, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep, but I remember waking up in the morning to the sound of my mother crying. Walking into the living room, I could see my parents seated on the couch watching the TV. I didn't need to hear what the person was saying to know that some horrible news had been come. Walking over to the couch, I whispered something to my dad. He pulled me around the couch to sit between him and my mother. One arm came around behind me and pulled my mother towards him, into me. She clung to me like to a rock in a stormy sea. My father wrapped his arms as best he could around the two of us and quietly told me that no one had survived the crash.

Yamato was dead. My older brother, my protector, my friend, my role-model was dead. My hero was dead.

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TBC …

Some may have noticed that I changed the catagory that this is under. It was under Angst, but I decided that it didn't fit under there. If you're reading this you're probably thinking something like 'why the fck was it changed? this seems like angst', and I'll agree about that. However I do not feel that the story overall is angst ... I'll explain at the end of the next chapter.

One more chapter coming ... so please don't kill me until then.

Review! I'll happily accept constructive criticism and flames. Flames will be donated to 'Writers in need of heat' organization. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Last chapter.

Disclaimer - Don't own, and that's probably a good thing.

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It's been nearly a year since the deaths of our family and friends, and we're still in mourning. Fellow classmates have told us that it's time to get over our sadness and move on. I refuse to listen to them, as those who say such things are not the ones who lost people close to them. I lost not only five of my dearest friends – friends who I do not hesitate to call my family – but I also lost my older brother, the one person I'd been able to count on for my whole life. I won't slight their memories by pushing my grief for their deaths aside. 

Mimi took the first flight from America she could after Jyou told her what happened. She arrived just in time for the funerals. The remaining eight of us stood before the coffins with our digimon. Without Koushirou it had been hard to make contact with the Digital World, but Miyako managed it with Ken's help. Our partners already knew what had happened. Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, and Tentomon had all dedigivolved before their data broke up.

Hikari, Daisuke and I finally realized why Ken had given us his cell number that evening. Having lost Osama years before, Ken knew what it was we'd be going through and he's done his best to help us through. Our lives after the crash were turned upside down and became almost too much for us to handle. Through it all he's been a solid rock for us to cling to. He told us to call whenever we need to, and he's always made time to listen to us, whether it's been during a class or in the middle of the night.While Hikari and I often get together to talk and comfort each other, Daisuke can be found at Ken's house drawing from the steadfast kindness of the other boy.

Ken hasn't been the only one to help out. Ken's parents call each of the families at least once a week to check up with them. The Digidestined mothers began getting together on weekends to support each other, and recently the fathers have been joining them. The teachers at school don't question us when we come into the classroom late with tearstained cheeks or red rimmed eyes.

Slowly things are starting to fall back into a normal pace. Bit by bit we're overcoming our grief and continuing with our lives. Photos of our lost family and friends decorate the walls of our houses, and we're able to talk about them without bursting into tears every time. We can laugh about their antics, and smile at their memories.

I'll never forget my friends, or times we spent together. They'll always be people that I strive to become like, and people who I'll always respect. I'll never forget my brother, and I'll never stop loving him. He was my older brother, and I have no other.

Since the time I was four years old I've experienced a lot of things. The separation of my parents, the funerals of three grandparents, a cousin, and uncle, the loss of my digital partner, the strength I gained from my experiences in the Digital World, the friendships that became a strong pillar of my life, the hope that I carry in me, the funeral of three dear friends, and the death of a hero.

The End

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A/N – I killed them … I can't believe I actually did that. This is officially the second story in which I have killed a main character. I can't believe myself. 

A couple of notes –

It's (obviously) from Takeru's point of view, and (obviously) AU. I've been fascinated with Takeru and Yamato's relationship since I first saw the show. In the beginning their relationship has a serious undertone - Yamato is a VERY protective brother, and Takeru soaks it up, returning when he looks up to Yamato as a role-model. Later on, especially in the second season, Yamato and Takeru's relationship lightens up and there's a little less seriousness, but they still have the older brother protectiveness and the younger brother role-model view. I don't think that will ever change between them.

Ken's been through a lot more, in terms of emotional loss, then any other character including Takeru, so it made sense for him to be the one that was the solid rock of the group, especially for the three who lost their older siblings. He understands, and knows the feeling. Similarly Ken's parents would understand the Motomiya, Yagami, and Ishida/Takashi families' loss.

I said I'd explain why I don't feel the story is angst overall, so here goes. Why someone close to you dies, you don't stay in total mourning your whole life; you don't live forever in despair. Eventually you begin to have hope again, and life begins to return to the way it was before. It seems a bit of a callous thought, but it's the truth. I feel that Takeru especially would realize that he has to continue living with hope and not despair. At the end of the story Takeru is begining to look into the future, insted of dwelling in the past. He realizes that Taichi, Sora, Koushirou, Jun, and Yamato are gone, but he and the others will always remember them and he finds hope in that.

Review please. I'll happily accept constructive criticism and flames. Flames will be donated to 'Writers in need of heat' organization. Thank you.


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